People soup

Hey Matt!

When I'm in the hot tub, my head perspires�. Does the bod do the same under the water? Eewwwwwww!

-- Bobby T, Hillcrest

Yo, Bobby. Wake up and smell the chlorine. You're sweatin' like Richard Simmons below that water line. Since the tub environment doesn't allow your body to radiate heat efficiently, perspiring is its only option. After 10 minutes or so simmering in 100-degree water, your body's core temp is up high enough to set your internal cooling fans in motion. Submerged pores work just fine, according to Dr. Doctor. As for the eewwwwww part, you're a real lightweight if sweat gives you the heebie-jeebies. A hot tub is like a big pot of people soup, according to most experts. Skin flakes, hair, saliva, body oils, dirt, urine, cosmetics, bacteria from cuts or abrasions, the odd Chee-to or two. And whatever you do, don't ever look inside the water-jet pipes. Studies suggest this is where hot tub bacteria love to hunker down and reproduce in the warm, wet environment-- Pseudomonas, Leigonella, Mycobacterium, and our old friend E. coli. I'll leave you with this quote from the Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases of the Centers for Disease Control, "On average, people have 0.14 grams of feces on their bottoms, which, when rinsed off, can contaminate recreational water." Your tax dollars at work.